Perdana View Condo: The Man Driving Its Success

I have seen 4 building managers come and go for Perdana View Condo (my office is located at the Perdana View Business Suites) over the last 4 years. I have personally meet all 4 of them and must say that the current manager, Mr Stanley Tan, stands out. Since Stanley took office, he has implemented major improvements and changes to Perdana View. All for the better.

He has demonstrated a strong ‘can do’ attitude that has seen many residents and tenants nodding in approval. Stanley’s ongoing improvements ranging from security to the improved look and feel of Perdana View, has resulted in happy residents and satisfied business owners.

In my first meeting with him, it was evident that Stanley had a genuine and strong interest in the betterment of Perdana View Condominium, which previous managers lacked. He is certainly the ideal person for the job and is setting the benchmark for future managers of this property. I recently caught up with Stanley to ask him to share his goals and visions for Perdana View Condo.

DP: Hi Stanley, can you share some of the challenges you faced when you took over the JMB office at Perdana View?

Financial management was poor in that defaulters were not promptly dealt with, resulting in high accounts receivables; management accounts were not accurate as car park rentals were not audited resulting in carpark income not properly tapped, accounts categorization via GL codes were not properly streamlined & source document not properly kept & tagged; Last but not least, a whole 200 items of outstanding maintenance tasks & accounts-discrepancy complaints left unattended to.

Almost all maintenance tasks were farmed out to 3rd party contractors instead of attending to them using in-house resources, that resulting in unnecessary wastage & high maintenance costs to JMB & depleting JMB’s general maintenance fund.

In short, the property was not managed by qualified & competent personnel.

DP: You have given the condominium a new face lift, improved traffic flow within the compounds and also installed CCTV as added security measures. What else can the residents expect to see in the coming months as part of your improvement plans and vision for the property?

In fact, since taking over in January this year, I have always stressed that any term of reference for any property manager must be to enhance the asset value of the property we claim to manage professionally. As such, all property improvements must gear towards attaining value. In doing so, the basic tenets of property management with regard to property maintenance & contractor services such as security, cleaners, landscapers, lift & pool maintenance & so on must be a given.

Besides CCTV installations to better secure the building, reconfiguring traffic routes, we are also into revising the landscaping outlook to project a more modern & relevant look & feel for the condo. Gym upgrading by renewing gym equipment, selective repainting especially on major facades are on going. There is always a way to manage all these big ticket items cost-effectively. Refurbishment of the current tennis court & it’s conversion into a dual-purpose court for futsal & tennis, intercom system, entrance water fountain, upgrading entrance lobbies, polycarbonate covers for air-wells & internal facade repainting are next.

DP: There have been many managers prior to you taking office. What is it that you have done differently in successfully implementing the positive changes where so many of your predecessors had failed?

Competency I guess. One thing we do differently is we also function as a secretariat for the JMC. That way, the executive committee & PMO can then co-ordinate & address issues efficiently as I serve as a crucial bridge in not only reporting but get prioritized works done quickly with full accountability. I also advise the JMC on tender committee set up involving both JMC & parcel owners & function as a secretary to the committees to better execute tender exercises in seeking out the most cost-effective supplier. The security & CCTV tender committees are the cases in point. Another is planning ahead, strategically.

Customer service is another. We need to engage the general residents & attend to their complaints expeditiously. I have set up a community website for information dissemination apart from the traditional notice boards, created complaint channels & time-stamped each complaint as they come in. These are centrally filed & actions taken by maintenance or accounts are properly archived. There are SOPs for PMO to abide by. Administratively, we updated all resident files, contacts & use system generated sms to communicate with residents on their arrears & so on.

Moving forward, I am in the process of creating a facility for residents, via password security, to view their statements via our community website, i.e. www.perdanaview.com.my. A web interactive forum is also in the pipeline.

DP: Many of MK land developments; mainly Armanee Terrace have negative feedback in terms of workmanship and materials used in the construction. What are your thought in this?

I think these are the issues MK Land will have to address isn’t it? All I can say is that the developer should take their customers seriously & attend to their complaints more objectively & promptly. Don’t forget, these are your customers; they do not need conversion as they have already bought into your products, and they are your best pool of repeat customers for your future projects if you handled them well. Failing that, no disgruntled customer is going to buy your product again or for that matter recommend to their friends to buy having had an unpleasant experience the first time around.

DP: Stanley what advise can you give other managers in Damasara Perdana, to help them achieve what you have achieved in Perdana View Condo?

I don’t think I’m in the position to advise.Perhaps we should all remember that we are paid a Professional Management Fee to manage for our clients who entrusted their property & their well-being to us. Be professional, i.e. do not even take up such appointment if you don’t even know what property management is all about.

DP: Stanley can you share with us what makes Perdana View Condo a great place to live and invest in for potential buyers and tenants?
Perdana View Condominium & Perdana View Boutique Serviced Residence (PVC) presents great investment opportunity. We have 388 parcels of residential units in blocks A & B, & another 60 at C & D. We also have 38 units of retail/offices measuring average of 1,000sf.
The property is now trading at around 280-310psf where all around us are transacting at 370-400psf. Our sizes of 988sf-1111sf & 1800f-3800sf present a good mix of various choices to suit various budget. Rental yields are presently at 6.8-7.5% nett of out-goings. With all the enhancement projects we are doing right now, the future is pointing north-wards,psf-wise & yield-wise, I’m sure.